We’re bringing you more advice straight from Katie’s pilates teacher.
Maybe you’ve had a long day of driving as you embark on your latest road trip. Maybe you’re working from home and accidentally forgot to, you know, move around. Or you could be gearing up for your tennis match, golf game, or Katie-inspired pickleball outing (complete with a matching outfit, we hope). Regardless of the context, you probably know that you can increase mobility by warming up for exercise or working out the kinks after sedentary activity.
But why bother? After a long day of work or travel, most of us want to ignore the stiffness so we can lounge around and give our brains a rest. Or, if we’re about to start a workout, we want to jump right into the exercise without adding yet another task to our busy schedules. If you’re not up to date, here’s a refresher: Spinal, shoulder, and hip mobility are super integral to moving fluidly. And while aging is a gift, it’s important to consider how getting older can adversely affect our ability to move around. According to at least one study, spine mobility decreases with age. And as some of you may unfortunately know from experience, a lack of flexibility can also cause pain.
The National Institute on Aging also points out that mobility is crucial to living independently — and that lots of sitting can compromise our mobility. Those of us with office jobs might throw up our hands in frustration at that — if our livelihoods require us to sit, what can we do?
Don’t freak out: Getting started is half the battle. Integrating a few simple exercises into your daily routine is a wonderful way to increase flexibility and prevent stiffness or pain. With that in mind, Katie’s Pilates instructor Ashley Patten has returned with another short, accessible video. She points out that this routine “will move all the major parts” of your body. Sounds like just what we need.
If you’re having foot, hip, or back pain, we have hacks for those, too!
